After the Crash
by stagediva23
Summary: Her last thought before she hit the floor was of her babies. The two lives she and Julian had somehow, against all odds created. She was supposed to keep them safe. A short one shot about what happened after Brooke fell in 8X22. R&R please


**AN: So I really wanted to see what happened between the crash and the phone-call Julian got (and a little beyond that). Although, I did love how the show did it cinematically. This is slightly AU in that it references things that didn't (but should have) happen on the show. I wish I had the time to write a longer fic that covered the time from Brooke's fall to when they brought the babies home from the hospital but I am in a super crazy intense (yes I did just use adjectives in a row) post baccalaureate program so I don't. I would be happy to read any one else's interpretation of those missing months though (HINT HINT). Flashbacks are in italics. And I have hidden a subtle call back to a significant event in Brulians relationship. See if you can catch it. **

**Disclaimer: I do not own the characters, the show itself or the storyline. They are owned by Mark **Schwahn** and the CW. There are two lines that were taken directly from episode 8x22, written by Mark **Schwahn**. The idea for this fic, and the fic itself belong to me. **

She knew she shouldn't be doing this. Haley had just lectured her about it. But they needed to prep for tomorrow. They opened at 7 and always sold out of the freshly baked blueberry muffins by 9. Prepping the dry ingredients the night before cut at least an hour off the time it took to make the ever-popular pastries. Besides, she had done this before, heels and all, to no ill effects. It was just one bag of flour. Just one.

As she moved the flour bag down to her shoulder however, she felt her balance shift. She had been so proud of herself for being able to wear heels (much to Julian's displeasure) this late in her pregnancy and still maintain her balance. All those years of wearing sky high heels to work and events paid off, she figured. But she knew this time she had pushed too far. The bag and the belly, the high heels and the stepstool. It was just too much. She felt her body shift forward and to the side, into the wire rack next to her. Her belly knocked the large metal bowl to the floor. Her arms, having dropped the flour, flailed in an attempt to catch her self and sent the plates crashing to the ground. The stool shot out from under her and she began to fall. Her last thought before she hit the floor was of her babies. The two lives she and Julian had somehow, against all odds created. She was supposed to keep them safe.

Haley was working on the books in the upstairs office when she heard the large crash. She was sure the whole street heard it. Thoughts of her friend immediately jumped into her mind. She had told Brooke an hour ago to go home and rest. After all she was a big as Haley was in her ninth month of pregnancy and still had two and a half months to go. But Brooke, being Brooke, had insisted that she stay and help get things ready for the morning bake. After all, Brooke had vehemently argued, tomorrow was her day off. She should at least do something to make up for the fact she was not going to be there. Haley had agreed, reluctantly, only after making Brooke promise she wouldn't lift anything heavy or scale any ladders. Running down the stairs, Haley found herself wishing she had forced Brooke to leave, even if it had meant driving her home herself.

"Brooke!" Haley called racing into the kitchen, where the crash had originated. "Brooke are you o-". The blonde stopped short at the sight in front of her. On the ground, surrounded by the contents of the wire rack, a bag of flour and an up-turned stepstool, was Brooke. It was clear that Brooke had not listened to her advice, but right now that didn't matter. What mattered was that her friend. Her pregnant friend was lying on the floor, writhing in pain and holding her belly. "Brooke" Haley said, softer this time, as she rushed over and knelt by Brooke side.

"Haley?" Brooke managed to croak out. "I'm sorry. I-" she winced in pain "I should have listened to you. Something-" another wince "something's wrong. It hurts."

Haley nodded trying to stay calm for the sake of her friend. "Shhhhh, honey don't apologize. I'm going to call an ambulance okay? Everything is going to be okay." The mother of two soothed, half trying to reassure Brooke and half trying to reassure her self.

"Haley?" Brooke whispered, causing Haley to pause as she reached for her cell. "I think. I think I peed my pants." Brooke finished looking embarrassed. Haley looked down and her stomach sank. There was liquid but it wasn't pee. Haley recognized it from the ends of both of her pregnancies. Brooke's water had broken. Not only that, but there was blood running from between her legs. Not wanting to scare her already traumatized friend, Haley responded with an, "I promise I won't tell anyone, but you better get used to accidents what with your two little ones coming. I'm going to call an ambulance now okay?"

Keeping an eye on Brooke but, not wanting to scare her with the information she was about to give to the 911 operators, Haley stepped back and spoke quietly. "Hi, I am at Karen's Café on the corner of Front and Grace Street. My friend, Brooke, she fell from a stool. She's 30 weeks pregnant with twins. She's bleeding and I think her water broke. She is also in considerable pain." Haley paused while she waited for the operator to verify the information she had given her, answer his questions, and confirm that help was on the way. "Yeah, she is still conscious. No I don't think she hit her head. She's 27. First pregnancy. No, no other problems with the pregnancy. Okay, I think I hear the sirens. The door should be un-locked. Thanks."

Haley knelt back down beside her friend, her friend who was fighting to stay awake, and grabbed her left hand, running her other hand through the brunette's hair. "Hey Brooke, sweetie I need you to stay awake for me okay? Help is almost here. You and your beautiful babies are going to be just fine. But I need you to stay awake. Think you can do that for me?" Brooke tried to nod but she was far too dizzy and tired. She just wanted to go to sleep and wake up from this horrible dream.

The next five minutes were a total blur. The paramedics rushed in quickly assessed Brooke's vitals before loading her onto a gurney and into the ambulance. After some convincing Haley was able to ride along with Brooke.

Haley couldn't follow what the paramedics were saying, and the words she did catch (things about fetal heart rate) scared her half to death. Brooke and Julian had been through so much. They had been to several fertility specialists, resulting in several hours of Brooke being poked and prodded, all with the same result: having kids would be hard. Virtually impossible without serious and taxing medical intervention. After several long and tear filled discussions Brooke and Julian had decided that adoption would be a better option. Then that fell through. On the same day that Lydia was born, Brooke and Julian lost what was going to be their daughter. She would always remember finding out what had been one of the Scott's happiest days, had been one of the Baker's worst.

_Lydia was a week old and had already captured every ones hearts. Haley was surprised though, at how little Brooke had been over. Brooke loved babies. Jamie and Sawyer's first week Brooke basically lived at the respective Scott households. Helping with the babies and giving the new parents some "time off". Haley had a sneaking suspicion that Brooke did it just as much so she could hog the infants as she did to help out. _

_But this past week Brooke had basically been absent. After tearfully holding Lydia in the hospital Brooke hadn't been by for so much as a hello. Haley knew that Chloe, their birth mom, was due any day now so maybe they were prepping for that. But it still didn't make much sense. For the past month Brooke had been asking Haley about everything from what kind of paint to use in the babies room, to what formula was best for a baby who wouldn't be breast fed, to the best mobile to hang over her child's bed. It didn't make sense that that would suddenly stop. _

_So, worried about her usually baby obsessed friend, Haley left Lydia in the care of her father and brother and went to seek out Brooke. _

"_Broooooke!" she called letting herself into Brooke's house. She was surprised at what she saw. Boxes of baby stuff. Stuff that had, only a week earlier, been sitting in the room Brooke and Julian were turning into a nursery. Boxes that looked like they were being packed __up__ instead of unpacked. "Brooke?" Haley called again. "What's going on?" she asked as her friend walked out of the would be baby's room carrying a large stuffed panda bear. _

_The brunette took one look at her blonde friend and swallowed back tears, "Nothing really. Chloe decided to keep the baby. I'm giving this stuff to her. She didn't plan on having-well on keeping the baby so she isn't prepared. We don't need this stuff anymore so…" she trailed off. It all made sense now. The absence from their home, the packed up baby things and the heartbroken, devastated look on her friends face. _

"_I'm fine Haley. Really I am. I'm sorry I haven't been around to help you with Lydia. We've just been busy getting all of this stuff ready for Chloe and baby Olivia. That's what they named her. Olivia." _

_Haley was in awe of her friends' selflessness. She and Julian had for all intents and purposes just lost a child and her focus still on other people. "When did this happen Brooke? Why didn't you call us?" _

_Taking a shaky breath and wiping a few stray tears from her eyes Brooke admitted, "The same night Lydia was born. Olivia was born about an hour before Lydia was. And the dad came back. She couldn't do it alone. Chloe. And now. They're not alone. But they're young and not at all prepared for a baby, so we're giving them this stuff. Because…" Brooke trailed off as tears began to escape her eyes at unstoppable rate. She could no longer contain her sobs, "Because, we aren't getting a baby anymore." _

_Haley gathered her friend in her arms, allowing her to cry. "Everything will be okay Brooke. I'm sure you and Julian are going to have a family. If anyone deserves to have a child it's you and Julian. It will happen." _

Haley was pulled out her daydream by the sound of the ambulance doors opening. The paramedics leaped out of the ambulance to meet the waiting doctors and Haley was shoved to the side. Again the rapid fire medical talk freaked Haley out and made her wish she had taken up nursing instead of teaching.

"You can wait in the waiting room" one of the doctors said. "Do you know how to contact her husband?"

Haley nodded. "But I need to know what to tell him. I know I'm not technically family but she is the godmother to my son and an Aunt to both of my kids. She is basically a sister to me. Please can you tell me what is going on?"

After hesitating for a moment the doctor spoke, "We think the fall Brooke took caused her water to break. That and the blood make us think we are going to have to rush Brooke into an emergency C-section. The doctors are checking right now to confirm the diagnosis but in all likely hood the babies are going to be born tonight…" The doctor continued but the words almost drowned out, blurring into one scary diagnosis. Following the doctor to a phone Haley's shaky hands dialed Julian's cell.

Julian was excited. Really, really excited. They were getting a baby. Two babies. The thought alone make him grin (a grin Brooke said she hoped the babies would inherit). They had decided to wait to find out the sexes. And Julian for one didn't care. He just wanted healthy babies. Two happy, healthy babies. He was loving every second of this pregnancy. Even the hormones and the bizarre cravings. Cravings that forced him to go to every open market within a twenty-mile radius, to find the Peanut Brittle Ice Cream Brooke insisted she needed only to find her fast asleep when he got home.

He did wish that she would slow down though. Brooke always moved a thousand miles a minute. He found that out six months after he started dating her when, with a 102-degree fever, she went to a meeting with her board, had a conference call with Macy's and worked a five-hour day at the store. The doctor, Haley and he had all been trying to convince Brooke to work less, or at least wear flats and take longer breaks. But no such luck. Brooke was hard headed and when she made up her mind there was no changing it. The father-to-be was just glad that Haley, or one of the newly hired waitresses was at the café with her at all times. Keeping a watchful eye on the pregnant women.

He was putting together the toy chest, the most recent purchase and one he was sure would be filled with dolls or trains or maybe a combination of the two as soon as the babies were born, when his phone stated to ring. And there was something about that ring. Something that told him it was bad news. The "unknown" I.D. worried him even more. He would die if something happened to Brooke and the babies.

Taking a deep breath he picked up the phone, "This is Julian."

"Julian. It's Haley." He heard her say. And he knew. Something was wrong with Brooke. "What is it? Is it Brooke? Or the babies?" The worried husband asked, panicked. The next few words were almost worse than what he expected.

"Brooke fell Julian. I don't know exactly what happened but she fell from a pretty significant height and…." Haley trailed off, unsure of how to say the next few words.

"And what Haley?" Julian exclaimed already throwing on his shoes and grabbing his wallet and keys.

"And there was blood. And they think…they think her water broke. They may have to do an emergency C-section. We're at the Betty H. Cameron Hospital. You need to get here as fast as you safely can. I'll try to have more information for you when you get here. But Julian, please, drive safe. We don't need another Baker in the hospital."

He was already in the car by the time he hung up the phone. Already driving in the direction of the hospital. But he hit every damn red light so it took nearly twenty minutes to get there. Frantic and scared he rushed through the doors of the hospital and saw Haley sitting in an orange plastic chair. "Haley!" the worried husband called, startling the young mother out of her trance.

"Julian!" Haley breathed running to her best friend's husband and throwing her arms around him. "She's okay. The doctors came to talk to me five minutes after I hung up the phone. They had to deliver the babies. But they got them out fast. They are small and will have to be in the NICU for a while but they are here. And they are just like their mommy, stubborn and fighting hard. You have sons Julian. You're a dad. They said Brooke is still a little woozy from the painkillers and anaesthesia but she is going to be okay too. She is in room 612**. **The doctor said he would wait for you to arrive and then come talk to the both of you."

The new father had tears in his eyes. He had sons. Two little boys who were fighting for their lives. And a wife to had just undergone a traumatic experience and an equally terrifying emergency surgery. He had to go see her. Go tell her how much he loved her. "Thank you" Julian managed choke out. "For being there and for waiting here for me. You are an amazing friend. I have to go see her."

Haley nodded, "Congratulations. On being a dad. You and Brooke are going to be amazing parents. And the babies are going to be fine. Tell Brooke I love her? And that I said congratulations?"

Julian nodded before turning and tearing down the hall to see his wife. When he opened the door he was shocked at how small she looked. Her belly was 40 inches last time he measured it and he could swear it was growing larger every day. But now, with the babies out she looked tiny. He was also struck by how tired she looked. Even when working like crazy Brooke managed to keep her energy up. He was brought back to that terrifying night on the bridge. When he was so sure that he had lost her. But he hadn't then. And he wouldn't now. Haley was right. They were going to be okay. Simply put, they had to be. He and Brooke had been through enough for him to believe this was not going to be another tragedy. The next few months were going to take a lot of strength, but they would get through it. With the help of their friends and each other, they were going to be okay.

He rushed to her side and grabbed the hand not attached to the . Grateful to see she was awake. Grateful as ever that she was there.

" Brooke. Baby I'm right here."

**So, did y'all catch the call back? Brooke's room number was 612. The episode number for when Brooke was dancing to "Don't You (Forget About Me)" the one where Julian fell in love with her. The lecture Haley gave Brooke (the one mentioned at the beginning) was actually referencing a deleted scene that Sophia Bush tweeted about (which I **_**hope**_** we will get to see when the DVD comes out). Sophia was apparently NOT happy that Brooke climbed up on a stepstool in heels to get a bag of flour so if you were mad at Brooke for doing that you weren't alone. **

**I had mixed feelings about a ninth season but now that most of the cast have signed on and it looks like the CW and the cast KNOW it will be the last season I am pumped! I am so excited to see Brulian as parents. Too bad we will have to wait until January but at least I won't have OTH to distract me while I apply to grad schools. It will be a nice reward for having all my applications submitted haha. **

**Please read and review!**


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